Hopedawn A New Dawn
by Isi Writer
Summary: This is the story of Hopedawn, a she-cat who is smothered by her father as she looks like his previous mate who died during kitting. She has to learn to fight back, to become a real warrior of Birchclan while learning to love her father for the way he is.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This was one of Misgiving Writer's Challenges off of her forum. It's a great place to get ideas to write! So go, check it out! But make sure you audition first before doing anything else **

**This challenge was about making a kitty-sue into a character worth reading about. I honestly don't know how I did, since I also decided to write in a view I have a very hard time with. I believe the beginning was my favorite part, and the rest was iffy. So please read and let me know how I did in a review, with any constructive criticism as I believe I am going to make this into a story. Below is the character with the description.**

Hopedawn - A lithe, cream she-cat with a single white forepaw. She has bright blue eyes and looks like a carbon copy of her mother. Her mother, Flowershine, died before she could name any of her cats and so that task was left to her father. She was named because Flowershine always gave her father hope and, when he looked at her, he saw his former mate. She has two other siblings, though they are often treated differently from her. Hopedawn is an out-going and cheerful cat.

When Hopedawn first opened her eyes that morning, the first thing she saw was her father, Swiftclaw, coming into the warrior den. She stirred from her sleep and woke up completely, accidentally brushing against her siblings, Rockshade and Ravenfur. She glanced at them before looking blearily at her father.

"Wake up sleepyhead," he grumbled with a hidden purr. "It's time to eat." As he said it, he gestured for her to follow him outside of the den, presumably to a piece of fresh-kill that was freshly killed, most likely by my father's own claws. Hopedawn looked once more at her brothers before obediently following her father out.

"Here it is, eat up," Swiftclaw mewed, pointing to a vole.

"Father, will I ever be able to eat bird? Rockshade told me it was delicious." Hopedawn purred, hoping it would entice her father into letting her eat it.

"No darling and you already know the reason why."

Hopedawn mewed irritably, "Then enlighten me, what is it? For I am growing tired of you babying me. I'm a loyal warrior of BirchClan and I plan on keeping it that way. And in order to do that, I have to fight and I have to hunt. You can't stop me from living my life; it is what I was born into."

"And if I had my way, you wouldn't even be a warrior! But Flamestar saw fit to make you one, which I see no point of. Can't he see that you are too delicate?" Swiftclaw said furiously.

Hopedawn then recoiled, and thought, _I've never seen him so mad before_. "Swiftclaw, are you ok?" she murmured, scared for her father.

The tom seemed to grow older, "Yes, I'm fine, just eat your vole and go sit away from the other cats."

The she-cat quickly ate it up and ran to the tree on the edge of the camp and swiftly climbed up into it. Finally, she plopped down on a thick branch that overlooked camp. _It's unfair_, she thought, _that he can judge and push me around, just because I remind him of Flowershine. I didn't even know my mother!_

"Boo!" mewed Rockshade into her ear. Startled, Hopedawn screeched, causing every cat in the clan to look up at her, including Swiftclaw. Most cats looked at her in disgust or pity before they went on with their duties. "Got you, didn't I Hopedawn?" said her brother, purring.

"Rockshade!" She then poked her brother, "What are you doing up here?"

"Well, I was hoping we could go out and I could finally teach you to fight hard and vicious. No offense, but your moves are meant only for dodging and running, not attacking."

"But…Swiftclaw said they were the best moves in the clan!"

"Hopedawn, are you serious? You are talking about Swiftclaw you know." He looked at her pointedly.

"That's true," she sighed. "Alright, let's go learn, I want to be able to defend my clan." She then stood up and climbed down the tree daintily. Rockshade quickly slid down to land beside her. Hopedawn looked for Swiftclaw and saw him leaving camp, probably to hunt for her, the useless, gorgeous, lump of fur. She then gestured for Rockshade to follow her and they sneakily went out of camp.

Soon, they reached the training hollow. _Luckily, there are no apprentices training, they might ask questions,_ mused Hopedawn. She looked at Rockshade questionably.

"So what now?" she asked her brother.

"Well, I think we can start with a simple leap and rake. It is the first move apprentices learn, I think."

Hopedawn looked horrified. "The f-fi-first move? Are you messing with me? Is that really how far I'm behind?" she asked with eyes wide.

"Hopedawn, settle down. Yes, it is the first move and no, I am not messing with you. And," he paused," you may be that far behind, but I will teach you all you need to know. And I'm sure Ravenfur will help too. Like, when I'm on a patrol or busy in some other way." Hopedawn just looked at him.

"Um, ok. Leap at me and try to pin me."

Hopedawn stared at her brother for a while before reaching a decision. As she started to circle him, Rockshade crouched down, ready for her attack. Hopedawn feinted, of which Rockshade fell for. As he jumped up, his sister moved to a spot where she could easily grab Rockshade when he landed. It happened exactly as she planned; she managed to pin him as he landed.

"Well done." Rockshade purred. "Now let me up you oaf."

"Oops!" Hopedawn quickly let him up. "Are you ok? I'm so sorry!"

He laughed, "No you're fine! That was great! You were so smart to make me jump! Let's go back now, I don't want Swiftclaw getting nervous or getting angry. Besides, if he shows any more affection to you, I think Ravenfur is going to scream. He is awfully jealous you know. You might want to take care of it before it gets too serious." Rockshade was dead serious by the time he finished.

Hopedawn nodded slowly, eyes wide. Rockshade sighed, looking at his sister. He knew it wasn't her fault but he still wish that she was a different color or looked at least a little different. Ravenfur could be trouble if he wanted, and he had reason to. Both Rockshade and Ravenfur were often overlooked by their father, who had eyes only for their sister. If Swiftclaw could, he probably would mate with her! Hopedawn then looked strangely at Rockshade, who had no clue why.

"Hopedawn, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you snorted laughter; like randomly, out of the blue. It was puzzling." She tilted her head at him before heading back towards camp and her brother quickly followed, lost in thought. They soon reached the border and slipped through, heading back to their respective duties; hers to lie down and rest and his to hunt and patrol and fight.

**A/N:**

**Swiftclaw was Hopedawn's mentor since her previous one retired to the elder den because of an unknown illness. The clan had no more available warriors to train her as they were all occupied with other apprentices or was with kits; the clan had many young cats at the time. So Flamestar allowed Swiftclaw to train his own daughter. However, he didn't really train her at all. He caught all the prey for her to bring back to camp to show she was "hunting" when all she was told to do was wash her fur. So when Flamestar finally made her a warrior, Swiftclaw was furious as she would have to do actual hunting now, with her clan mates. So he went and convinced Flamestar that Hopedawn had the same strange illness and that she should stay in camp. (even though she didn't ). Just a little note ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Claws flashing, blood spilling, fangs bared, it was the perfect image of a battle. With one slash of a claw, a life could be taken, leaving the cats behind to grieve. It was a site of horror for any defending and watching person or cat. _

Hopedawn thought back to earlier that day as she fought in the screeching piles of cats around her. How was it that Branchlight seemed to find the rogues? Wasn't she conversing with one of them when her patrol found the she-cat warrior? A swipe of a claw woke Hopedawn from her thoughts and she bitterly fought back against the cat that attacked her. Now, wasn't she glad for the moves that her brother taught her for the past several moons?

Hopedawn crouched on the edge of the clearing with her teeth bared, daring anyone to come near. She had just chased off one cat, but she could easily see that BirchClan was losing the battle against the rogues. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain at her ears, and blood began to pour down over her eyes. She wiped the blood away and looked at her attacker, the one who slashed her. Hopedawn noticed the way he stood wary, ready for her attack. "_In a way, he looks handsome_," she mused to herself. The tom was a dark mottled brown tabby with bright, amber eyes that stood strong, despite the many wounds on him. Slowly, Hopedawn made a decision; she would not fight this tom. The lithe, cream she-cat then nodded to the tom and disappeared back into the battle.

Hopedawn twisted and turned through the crowd, trying to get away from the handsome tom. However, she was stopped in her tracks as she was rammed into by a bright ginger she-cat with glassy eyes that glowed with fury.

"I will _kill_ you," hissed the she-cat.

"You don't even know who I am, you mange-pelt!" Hopedawn lashed out a claw, swiping the ginger cat on her brow. But the ginger cat did not stop; she just leaped and caught Hopedawn's foot in her mouth.

"Yes I do. You are Hopedawn, daughter of Swiftclaw!" she hissed as Hopedawn battered her flank with heavy blows.

"Well, you may know who I am but I have no idea who you are rogue. You don't belong here!"

"I will soon enough," the ginger cat said before leaving the battle.

Suddenly, Hopedawn heard BirchClan's leader, Flamestar, sound the retreat. Hopedawn quickly looked over the battlefield and seeing Hollypaw struggling to carry Poppypaw, she rushed over to carry Poppypaw and to help the two apprentices escape safely. Hopedawn picked up Poppypaw's limp body and went to the underbrush, where the medicine cat, Leafsong, worked on treating the warriors.

Setting Poppypaw's small body down, Hopedawn mewled to Leafsong, "Leafsong…" Looking up, Leafsong gasped and ran over to the apprentice.

"Take care of her Leafsong. There are more injured cats out there that I am going to get," she whispered to the she-cat.

"Go Hopedawn, but be careful. You know what Swiftclaw will be like when you get back." Then Leafsong nodded to the warrior and started working on the apprentice.

Swiftly, Hopedawn went back into the clearing of which the battle took place and froze. Before her were the rogues and the rest of her clanmates, including Rockshade and the deputy. They had been gathered and encircled by the rogues and it was obvious that is was done quickly. Hopedawn's clanmates were bloody and looked exhausted. Talking before them all was the handsome brown tabby, the one that Hopedawn refused to fight. Hopedawn kicked herself, she almost fought the leader! She could've ended the battle then and there!

Hopedawn gathered her thoughts and strode purposefully into the clearing. She set her eyes on her brother and walked, what seemed to be calm, towards him. Gasps of shock and surprise resounded through the watching cats, from both the rogues and the clan cats.

"Hopedawn, no!" cried Rockshade, quickly gesturing for her to run away.

Ignoring her brother, Hopedawn walked towards the leader. When she was 4 fox-tails away, she gracefully sat down and glared at the leader. She then spoke, "Tom, I do not know your name, or who you are. However, I know these cats that you have taken and they are very dear to me. I request that you release them."

"Then let me get a few things set straight Hopedawn. That is your name right?" the leader scoffed. As Hopedawn nodded, he continued speaking. "My name is Spar. I'm the leader as you can probably see. As to our prisoners, we won them fair and square. I request that you leave and forget they exist."

"How dare you? My kin is in that group and yet you are proposing for me to just, forget?"

"To put it simply, yes."

"Yet, you stand up there and look supreme. I could've fought and killed you, but you looked like the noble sort, so I refused. And is this the way you repay me? I'm disgusted." she growled.

Spar gazed at Hopedawn as he made his final decision. "Fine," he nodded, with defeat in his shoulders, "we will return _our_ prisoners to you. However…"

"However, what?" Hopedawn asked, masking the panic in her voice.

Quickly, Spar bent his tail at an odd angle and one of his cats, the bright ginger she-cat that Hopedawn had fought earlier, leaped upon the deputy, Lightningstrike. With one snap of her jaws, the deputy fell down dead. As it happened, Hopedawn and the rest of her clanmates looked in horror to where the ginger she-cat wiped her mouth with a small paw and backed away.

"Now, you may have your prisoners, as we took your deputy's life. Sit vigil for him if you wish, but be wary. Always be wary of the unknown." With another flick of his tail, Spar brought together his cats and then led the way out of the hollow.

Quickly, Hopedawn took over and said to the group, "Out of all of you here, who is fastest and least uninjured?"

"That would be me, Hopedawn," a young apprentice said out of the middle of the group.

"Very well Larkpaw, run to camp and alert everyone you know that their clanmates are on the way back to camp. And that we will need as much help carrying and leading them as many is wounded. Can you do this for me?"

"Yes Hopedawn!" Larkpaw squeaked, and the apprentice rushed into the undergrowth with determination on her face.

"Alright, we are going to rest here until cats come to help bring you back to camp."

"They can come back though!" whimpered another apprentice, Mintpaw.

"No they won't Mintpaw, Spar gave his word." Hopedawn replied.

"And you believe that mange-pelt of a rogue?" hissed Thistlefoot. "I, for one, vote to continue on. I don't trust a single hair on that fox-heart's pelt."

"Fine Thistlefoot, would you like to carry all the injured?" hissed Hopedawn. Then her voice grew calmer, "There are too many for us to carry. We have to wait for help."

"Fine." replied the tom as he sat down.

Soon, all of the BirchClan cats settled down, ready to wait for their other clanmates. It was twilight and was descending into nighttime faster and faster. Hopedawn sat on the outskirts and watched them, thinking about the battle and what would have been if she had fought Spar. She glanced to the side as her brother shuffled up to her and spoke.

"Thanks for coming back for us. No other cat did."

"Rockshade, you don't need to thank me. I mean, I was the one who could've stopped the battle. I just couldn't bring myself to fight the tom, Spar. It was like StarClan was whispering in my ear to just back away. Also, our clanmates were concentrating on all of the injured that we had. Poppypaw was near death, I carried her out of the battle myself. No one realized that you were missing as they simply thought your "group" just went back to camp already, to prepare the way for the injured."

"But still, you were the one who came back. And you got Spar to release us, even if we lost Lightningstrike during the… negotiations."

"That's true. I wonder how the clan will take Lightningstrike's death. He served the clan for a very long time and he was very fatherly. Everyone liked him."

"Yes," replied Rockshade. The two cats then sat in quiet, soaking in the darkness of the night and reveling in each other's comfort and scent. As the two cats sat, the wind drifted over their nostrils, informing them of many prey-scents from that direction, yet unaware of the cats pounding the earth as they raced towards the BirchClan cats.

**A/N: Hey everyone! I just wanted to say thanks for the reviews that you guys gave me. I really did try to make Hopedawn have some faults. Even so, I had a hard time as she had to be a Mary-sue. Once again, thanks for the reviews, it meant a lot. **

**I decided to make an actual story out of this, as I think I set up the plot line for myself and the writing just started to flow. The beginning of this chapter was kind of rushed, I admit, but I wanted to get right to the battle as I didn't know how to fill the gap otherwise.**


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